311 Bank Street

Pudgyboy's, coming soon. And no, I did not pose this — it just happened.

Bank Street in the late 1800s saw a robust mix of residential, commercial and industrial development. By 1888 (Goad), the SE corner of MacLaren was hosting a 2½-storey mixed-use triplex (then 303-305-307) adjacent to a lumber yard . It grew to its present 3-story configuration around the turn of the century.

Younger locals will remember #311 as the late "King's Pizza & Greek", "Meat in the Middle" sandwiches before that, and the "#1 Quiznos in Canada" once upon a time...

The address served as a grocery store from the latter 1800s through the 19-aughts ("Usher's Dairy"), then variously as a barbershop (see below), a drug store ("Olivers") in the '20s, a Canadian Bank of Commerce in the '40s and '50s, and the "House of Carpet & Tiles" and "S&S Surplus" (Landlubber Jeans, GWG Scrubbies) through the 1970s.

1913-6-19, note the reference to fires, one block to the north

Some of us will recall the Blue Moon Café from the 1990s, a chic-but-unpretentious lunch spot with Pat Nagel prints on the wall. This was my favourite place to dawdle over a Caesar salad, sip a glass of wine or two and watch the world go by.

"Her name is Rio..." art by Pat Nagel

Roger was the Blue Moon's ever-solicitous day-waiter and Jolyn the palm-reader would set up her consulting table there at least once a week.

By the latter '90s, the Blue Moon was hosting jazz nights and the "Goodfella's Comedy Club".  I remember dropping in for lunch one day to find the north wall of the cafe dominated by a portrait of this character...

The God of Zaniness had landed.

From what little I've seen, Pudgyboy's Diner is a local endeavour, a food-truck offshoot aiming to serve some version of a burger-and-fries-centric menu. I look forward to seeing whether and how they'll be keeping things real in one of Ottawa's funkier neighbourhoods.